5 games that play with time

The art of slowing down time in order to respond more precisely has slipped its way into a number of our favourite games – and with the recent Quantum Break embracing this to the fullest, we’re here to pay homage to these time-bending experiences.

Quantum Break

Quantum Break puts the old time-travel hypothesis to the test – can you change the past? Remedy’s new action game makes time not only a tool, but a weapon for the in-over-his-head protagonist Jack Joyce, and the result is something quite unique and spectacular.

After a time-travel experiment goes wrong, Jack is gifted with a range of time powers that allow him to operate as normal when time is frozen. Or to use abilities such as Time Rush (quick dash), Time Dodge (quick dodge), Time Blast (shoot fireball-like projectiles), Time Shield (we’re sure you can guess), and the equally self-explanatory Time Stop.

Superhot

“Time moves only when you move.” That’s the gist of Superhot, a stylish first-person shooter that started out as a small prototype made for a game jam. One Kickstarter and a year and a half later, Superhot is a dynamically paced and strategic action game that has the concept to match its unique looks, and it’s worth getting in your sights.

Singularity

Singularity is definitely one of the most interesting and entertaining shooters of 2010. It may initially appear familiar to those who’ve played Bioshock and Half-Life, but Singularity creates a unique personality for itself with a phenomenal story, intriguing level design and time-manipulating mechanics.

The game involves a TMD (Time Manipulation Device), which allows players to travel through time and fix the course of history by rewinding or fast-forwarding objects in the environment. It may sound awfully confusing, but the time-travelling antics and action vs. consequence theme of the game are its high points, with the entire experience delivering a compelling and intriguing narrative.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

While most consider the Prince of Persia series to be more of an action game, the franchise has always had tricky platforming at its core, and the Sands of Time reboot injected some time-manipulation abilities that elevated the game to new heights.

The Forgotten Sands raised the wall-running bar once again, as players found themselves jumping and climbing in a whole new array of ways thanks to new powers, which allowed you to freeze water, swing your way across ledges, and teleport your way across strange static birds and large gaps. While the Forgotten Sands was neglected pretty quickly, it’s still one of the most attention-demanding and challenging platformers out there.

TimeShift

While many games featured elements of bullet-time and slow-down mechanics, TimeShift based its entire gameplay on the concept. While the game didn’t break any records, it gave players the opportunity to slow-down, freeze and even rewind time. This had to be mastered in order to solve puzzles and kill enemies. Some enemies even move so fast, you have to slow down time just to see them. Time can also be completely stopped, allowing you to waltz over and snatch an enemy’s gun right out of their hands. That alone is worth your time.

Notable Mentions: Braid, Stranglehold, Sniper Elite series, FEAR, Need for Speed series, Total Overdose, Metal Gear series, Midnight Club series, Call of Duty breaching (yawn), True Crime series, Sleeping Dogs, Batman, Assassin’s Creed 2, Fight Night.